NFL Player News

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson looked up to Drew Brees when he was growing up, and Wilson reached out to his idol about how to handle Super Bowl preparations, reports ESPN.com.

“We've been in communication over the past week, just about the experience,” Wilson told the website. “Like I said, he knows I look up to him. He's a great individual and he was just talking about the experience, and it's no different. The biggest thing is taking care of all tickets and taking care of all family early in the week last week, which I was able to do last Monday and just focus on the game.”

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is prepared for the Super Bowl, according to ESPN.

Head coach Pete Carroll said Wilson’s preparation should put him in a good spot. “I don’t know how anybody could be better prepared to handle it,” Carroll added. Wilson’s preparation has been impressive. He told ESPN earlier in the week that he expects 56 different footballs to be used in the game. He also knows the Super Bowl emblem on the balls will make them slicker. Wilson is also aware of the differences in timing throughout the game. He’ll prepare as normal during the pre-game, but knows he’ll have 25-to-30 extra minutes in between warmups and the game. He’s also aware halftime will take 35-to-40 minutes, which is much longer than the regular season. Wilson is inexperienced when compared to Peyton Manning, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to close the gap.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said quarterback Matthew Stafford needs some work, according to mlive.com. 

“I think there certainly has to be some work done,” said Mayhew. Stafford went into a slide over the second half of the year. While Mayhew was concerned, he doesn’t believe Stafford’s confidence has fallen. Mayhew added that he doesn’t put the end of the season collapse completely on Stafford either. The team will move forward with two quarterback coaches on staff, and could add a third. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi will be tasked with trying to fix Stafford. 

The Browns will likely pay the $250,000 roster bonus on quarterback Brian Hoyer, which is due by March 15, per ESPN.

Hoyer was a pleasant, but brief surprise for the Browns early in the year. He led them to three wins in three starts, but a knee injury sustained in the last of those games knocked him out for the season. He is a considered a possible starter in 2014.

New Browns coach Mike Pettine indicated Thursday that the quarterback of the future could be a quarterback of the present. He called Brian Hoyer a "winner" and added that his "intangibles are off the charts," per the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Hoyer started three games for Cleveland in 2013 and gave the team and town hope by throwing for 615 yards and five touchdowns. The Browns won all three games he started, but won just one more after a knee injury ended his season.

Jets quarterback Geno Smith said he has accepted an apology from Virgin Airlines for an incident last week that resulted in him being removed from a flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale - of course, before it took off. He added that he is looking forward to flying again with the airline.

The Jets will be in the market this offseason for an experienced quarterback with the capability of pushing Geno Smith for the starting job, ESPN has speculated. It remains to be seen whether that addition comes via trade or free agency.

Smith proved wholly inconsistent as a rookie in 2013. He completed just 56 percent of his passes for 3,046 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

The 49ers signed running back Jewel Hampton and quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to reserve/futures contracts, reports CSNBayArea.com. Both were on the team's practice squad.

Under new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, a protege of Saints coach Sean Payton, the Lions will be "more aggressive with a quarterback-driven scheme," reports MLive.com. "They will employ the no-huddle offense to put defenses in poor matchups, and Matthew Stafford could audible more at the line of scrimmage."

The Lions hope Stafford can become as efficient and consistent as the quarterback Lombardi used to coach, Drew Brees.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, who's recovering from ACL surgery, likes what he saw from the offense over the second half of the season. "The way that we were able to establish the run and get the running game going on offense, and then set up some of the play-action stuff," Bradford told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I felt like our younger guys really came along, especially towards the end.

"You look at what Sted (Stedman Bailey) was able to do. You know, his role increased as the season went along. I think Tavon (Austin) became more comfortable, obviously before his injury. And Zac (Stacy) played tremendous, not only running the football but being able to come in and handle all the protections and being able to hold up on third down. That's not easy. That's tough on a young guy.

"So I definitely think that this football team made some strides and got better as the year went along."

Bradford said there's no reason the Rams, who finished 7-9, can't make the playoffs in 2014.

"I think we're close," he said. "Like I said earlier, I think it's a matter of us being more consistent and playing to our fullest potential each week, and not having those drops where we don't perform that way some weeks. But you look at some of our wins this year, some of the teams that we beat. Beat New Orleans who was a playoff team. Beat Indy who was a playoff team.

"So it's not far off. I think everyone saw that we have the talent to compete and to play with anyone. It's just a matter of us just finishing a few more games."